In one of the more idiotic political defenses in recent memory, two South Carolina County GOP chairmen summoned bigoted stereotypes of Jews to defend Sen. Jim DeMint's fiscal conservatism.

The Op/Ed was published Sunday in the South Carolinian newspaper The Times and Democrat. Chairmen Edwin Merwin, of Bamberg County, and James Ulmer, of Orangeburg County, wrote:

There is a saying that the Jews who are wealthy got that way not by watching dollars, but instead by taking care of the pennies and the dollars taking care of themselves. By not using earmarks to fund projects for South Carolina and instead using actual bills, DeMint is watching our nation's pennies and trying to preserve our country's wealth and our economy's viability to give all an opportunity to succeed.

This is only one small story from one small town newspaper. But it is likely to make some national news.

That news will not be well received by the national Republican Party. The GOP has long attempted, albeit with little success, to make inroads into the Jewish vote. Of course, this incident will not help. And it may not be big enough to hurt that much. But the news comes in the context of the GOP's macro push to portray itself as a more inclusive party of late. And every anecdote exemplifying otherwise undermines that push.

That the offensive language was penned in an Op/Ed, rather than made in an offhand remark, makes it all the more politically foolish (and almost too stupid to believe).

For more context, here is the Palmetto Scoop scoop on the matter and the original Op/Ed.

It's high times for the marijuana legalization movement.

Forty-four percent of Americans favors legalizing marijuana use, the highest level of support since Gallup first asked the question in 1970. From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, only about a quarter of the public supported legalization.

A slim majority of Democrats, as well as half of independents, now favor legalization. Republicans are still saying no. Slightly over a fifth on the right support legalizing marijuana.

Not surprisingly, the West is the most supportive region. A majority of Americans living out West backs an end to the federal prohibition on marijuana use. And half of Americans ages 18 to 49 also agree. By contrast, only 28 percent of seniors support legalizing pot.

To be sure, Gallup's polling shows a slim majority, 54 percent, still oppose legalization. But in the mid 1990s, nearly three in four adults supported prohibition.

Support for legalizing pot has increased most rapidly this decade, 13 percentage points since 2000.

On a related note, the Associated Press reports that the U.S. Justice Department will no longer seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers, providing they are conforming to state laws. That marks a significant shift from Bush era policies, which ignored some state laws and continued to enforce federal marijuana statutes. According to the AP, 14 states currently allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The Club for Growth is launching a $300,000 TV ad campaign tomorrow in New York's 23rd Congressional District in support of Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman. The Club endorsed Hoffman in September for the Nov. 3 special election to replace departed congressman John McHugh (R), who was appointed Secretary of the Army.

Hoffman is running against Republican Dede Scozzafava and Democrat Bill Owens. Despite the endorsement of Scozzafava last week by former Speaker Newt Gingrich, conservatives have not jumped on board the GOP nominee's bandwagon, and instead support the more-conservative Hoffman.

"There's a stark contrast in the three candidates running in this race," Club for Growth president Chris Chocola, a former Indiana congressman, said in announcing the ad buy. "The two liberals, Dede Scozzafava and Bill Owens, support the Pelosi tax and spend agenda, while Doug Hoffman offers a fiscally conservative alternative based on lower taxes and limited government. Hoffman is the only candidate in the race who will fight for less wasteful spending, no more bailouts, and no tax hikes on hard working Americans."

A poll released last week by the Siena Research Institute found the three candidates all with legitimate chances to win. Owens led with 33 percent, followed by Scozzafava with 29 percent and Hoffman with 23 percent.

You know you've been following politics too long when you no longer have to look up how to spell "Giannoulias."

Anyway, it is sort of a good-news-bad-news poll for Republicans from Scott Rasmussen.  Tenth District Congressman Mark Kirk is tied 41%-41% with State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the race for Obama's Senate seat in Illinois (technically its to replace Roland Burris, but everyone from the White House down sees this as Obama's seat).  He leads Urban League President Cheryle Robinson Jackson 43%-39%, and he leads former Chicago Inspector General David Hoffman 43%-33%.

On the one hand, its a good thing for Republicans that Kirk is very much in the race.  But the question is:  How does he get to 50% + 1 vote?  He's never run a statewide race before, so he presumably has room for growth, but it isn't like he's running away with things, and many of the undecideds probably prefer Democrats, all other things being equal (given the makeup of the state).  While Kirk should be competitive, the race probably does lean toward the Democrats somewhat.

As the head of the House of the Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a divisive figure in the national political scene, but a new poll finds unhappiness with her even in her home state and among members of her own party.

A Field Poll released over the weekend found just 51% of Democrats in California approve of the job Pelosi's doing as speaker, while 23% disapprove and 26% have no opinion. Overall, she has a 34% approval -- her lowest since May 2008 -- and 44% disapproval rating. Just 7% of California Republicans approve of the speaker, while independents are split.

The two months Pelosi was most popular were March 2007, just after becoming speaker, and March 2009, following President Obama's inauguration.

The state's two Democratic senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, have positive approval ratings, though both are under 50%. Boxer, who's up for re-election next year, has a 44% approval and 37% disapproval rating, while 46% approve of and 35% disapprove of Feinstein.

The survey was conducted of 509 registered voters from Sept. 18 to Oct. 5 with a margin of error of +/- 3.2%.

How's this for irony: a black radio talk show host goes on national television to argue that Rush Limbaugh is a racist and ends up using a racial slur to attack a fellow African-American for having the temerity to defend Limbaugh.

It sounds ridiculous, I know. But here's the clip of Warren Ballentine debating Juan Williams on the O'Reilly Factor last night saying that "real black people" are offended by Limbaugh - quite clearly implying that Williams is not authentically black for having a different point of view.

A moment later it gets worse, as Ballentine ends the segment with Williams by saying "it's OK, you can go back to the porch, Juan."

Lest anyone misunderstand, it seems indisputable Ballentine was referring to a derogatory and racist term with the implication being that Williams is an Uncle Tom and a sell out to his race. Ballentine was losing the argument to Williams so he went for an ad hominem racial slur as a parting shot.

It goes without saying that if a white person - whether liberal or conservative - had said the same thing it would have ended his or her career. Indeed, a couple of years ago a white talk show host in Missouri who had an unfortunate slip of the tongue while praising Condoleezza Rice - ironically enough about possibly becoming the Commissioner of the NFL. He apologized immediately and profusely on air, but was nonetheless fired that day.

But the same standard doesn't apply to blacks, especially liberal ones. Thus Harry Belafonte can get away with calling Colin Powell a "house slave" and Clarence Thomas can be portrayed as a "lawn jockey" on the cover of a prominent black magazine and no one bats an eye.

That's the way it continues to work in America - even under the nation's first black President who many hoped would help usher in an era of "post-racial" dialogue and understanding. Apparently Warren Ballentine didn't get the memo.

Not to worry. Ballentine won't lose his job. To my knowledge, he hasn't even been criticized for his racist jab.  Heck, he probably won't even apologize to Juan Williams - though he certainly should if he has an ounce of decency in him.

At a 1 p.m. central time press conference today, many in Iowa expect former governor Terry Branstad to step down from his current post as president of Des Moines University, placing him one step closer to announcing a bid for a fifth term as governor. It's excellent timing for the announcement, as a new poll released today finds Branstad leading Gov. Chet Culver (D) by 5 points.

Culver is pushing back on the Branstad publicity today by releasing his first TV ad of the 2010 campaign.

The survey released today by Daily Kos/Research 2000 was conducted Oct. 12-14 of 600 likely voters and a margin of error of +/- 4%.

Governor
Culver 43 - Branstad 48 - Und 9

Culver 58 - Rants 28 - Und 14

The survey also found Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), running for a sixth term, leading four potential Democratic challengers -- all by double digits.

Senate
Grassley 52 - Krause 35 - Und 13

Grassley 51 - Conlin 39 - Und 10

Grassley 51 - Vilsack 40 - Und 9

Grassley 54 - Fiegen 31 - Und 15

**UPDATE: Branstad said this at his press conference, per the Des Moines Register: "I intend to retire as the president to fully explore the possibility of becoming a candidate for governor in 2010."

Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate in 2008, leads his potential opponents in the 2012 Republican primaries, according to a new Rasmussen poll (Oct. 15, 750 GOP LV, MoE +/- 4%).

With just less than three years to go until the party nominating conventions, Huckabee leads former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, 2008 vice presdiential nominee Sarah Palin, former House speaker Newt Gingrich and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Huckabee 29
Romney 24
Palin 18
Gingrich 14
Pawlenty 4
Someone Else 6
Und 7

Who would voters least like to see win the nomination? Twenty-eight percent said Pawlenty, 21% Palin, 20% Gingrich, 9% Romney and 8% Huckabee.

Republican voters appear rather confident in their chances against President Obama in 2012. About eight in 10 say it's at least somewhat likely a Republican will defeat Obama, with 50% saying it's "very likely" and 31% say "somewhat likely." A total of just 12% say it's not very likely or not likely at all.

John Edwards has suffered the greatest decline in stature of any public figure since Gallup first asked the question in 1992.

Edwards' positive rating has plummeted 27 percentage points. Jesse Jackson, Sammy Sosa, Tom Cruise and Lamar Alexander rival Edwards' decline. But Edwards dive is the largest to date.

Only 21 percent of Americans now have a favorable view of Edwards. Of the modern politicians who have had their dalliances, none has sunk like Edwards.

Gallup routinely measures the favorable and unfavorable view of public figures. The poll also found that Sarah Palin, whose favorable rating is at 40 percent, now has the lowest public standing since she stepped on the national stage. But 69 percent of Republicans continue to view Palin positively.